


You Make a Loop De Loop and Pull, and Your Bow Tie’s Looking Cool

by CaptainAwesome242



Series: Iron Dad Bingo Prompts [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bullying, Formalwear, Gen, Interns & Internships, Irondad Bingo 2019, Mentor/Protégé, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, gala - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-21 14:55:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18704602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainAwesome242/pseuds/CaptainAwesome242
Summary: Prompt - Gala/Press EventTony struggled not to laugh at the put out look on Peter’s face, “You came up with your web fluid formula in class and you’re on the academic decathlon team in one of the top high schools, but a bow tie? Oh no, you need a YouTube tutorial for that,”~~~Tony takes Peter to his first ever black tie gala





	You Make a Loop De Loop and Pull, and Your Bow Tie’s Looking Cool

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an attempt at a few of the IronDad bingo prompts. I don’t have a card or anything I just picked a few I saw around the internet and liked.
> 
> Additions to this series will probably be very sporadic and infrequent.
> 
> Title adapted from Loop De Loop on Spongebob Squarepants when he’s learning to tie his shoes laces

“Fold the middle of the other end of the bow tie and push it through the hole, et voila! A perfect bow tie!”

Peter looked at his efforts in the mirror and pouted. They said practice makes perfect but his fifth attempt was no better than his first. He sighed and tugged irritably at the uneven tie, growling in frustration when it knotted tightly.

A knock rapped at the door, “You almost ready, Pete?”

“Uh, yeah... yeah, I just gotta...” he cheered quietly when the knot came loose, “I’ll be out in a sec!”

“You okay in there?” Tony asked.

“Fine! I’m just...”  one side longer, tie a knot  “I just need to...”  shorter side in a bow, longer side around and pinch together  “I’m almost...”  fold the middle and push through the loop...

“Ready!” Peter declared, throwing the door open with a wide smile and hoping he’d been sixth time lucky.

But going by the fond smirk on the older man’s face, he hadn’t. 

“Here, let me,” Tony unthreaded the offending accessory and started again.

“Why does something that looks so simple have such a complicated method behind it?” said Peter, crossing his arms in frustration.

Tony struggled not to laugh at the put out look on Peter’s face, “You came up with your web fluid formula in class and you’re on the academic decathlon team in one of the top high schools, but a bow tie? Oh no, you need a YouTube tutorial for that,”

Peter glanced over his shoulder to see his laptop still paused on the video, and blushed, “Well chemistry formulas make sense, this is just pointless. What’s wrong with a normal tie? I mean, they’re also stupid but at least I can do those,”

Tony couldn’t hold back anymore and laughed loudly, “Because ‘black tie gala’ means dress smart and bow ties are smarter than normal ties,”

“Says who?” 

“Who knows,” Tony shrugged, “but if you want to make a good impression with these people you’ve gotta play ball,”

He finished the tie and adjusted Peter’s collar, brushed an imaginary piece of lint from his shoulder. 

Peter glanced down; the tie was perfect, “How did you do that? You were barely looking at it!”

“It’s just practice. You know my dad was making me wear these things as soon as I was old enough to dress myself - ‘a Stark represents himself wherever he is’,”

Peter’s brow creased at the mention of Howard Stark. Tony rarely talked about his dad, but whenever he did it was to reveal some other unpleasant aspect of an overall unhappy childhood. Before Peter could say anything though, Tony flashed him what Peter had dubbed his ‘press grin’.

“Ready to go?”

The butterflies in Peter’s stomach awakened with a vengeance, flitting around excitedly in his gut. In all the time he’d known Tony Stark, he’d never imagined himself in a situation like this.

Even though Peter had turned down the offer to become an Avenger, a decision he didn’t regret, Tony had been serious about the mentoring, and had been helping him with his crime fighting technique. He’d also made the internship official, setting up a workstation for him in his own. private. lab. (Peter still wasn’t over that one, getting a giddy thrill whenever FRIDAY welcomed him to the tech wonderland)

But with real internships came real obligations, like galas and official events and functions. Well, he wasn’t obliged exactly, but Tony had really wanted him to come, saying it would be boring without him and that as his intern he should get used to events like this. 

Peter had found it difficult enough to pluck up the nerve to show up at Liz’s house party with a bunch of his classmates, never mind a fancy gala, dressed in an uncomfortably expensive outfit, in a room filled with the current greatest scientific minds, representing  Tony Frigging Stark!

So no, he wasn’t ready. But he couldn’t let Tony know that the nerves were threatening to eat him alive, so he pulled himself up to his full height and nodded.

“Sure,” he tried to mirror Tony’s confident expression, but Tony’s eyes softened and Peter knew he’d once again fallen short of the mark.

“You’ll be fine,” Tony reassured, giving Peter’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze before throwing his arm around him and guiding him through the building, “Just be yourself and they’ll love you. And if anyone asks what it’s like to be my intern just tell them ‘Mr Stark is the bestest boss in the whole wide world’”

Peter ignored the jab about his age, “But what if I screw up? What if I say something that makes me look stupid?”

“Not possible,” Tony interjected with certainty, “you’re the smartest kid I know, you could give a lot of those old ‘geniuses’ a run for their money,”

“But I’m coming as your intern,” Peter stressed, “your  first ever  intern. What if I do something that makes  you  look bad?”

“Kid, have you seen the old articles about me? Actually, on second thought it’s probably best you  don’t  go looking for those, but my point is that after everything I did growing up there’s very little you could do to make me look  more stupid,” 

“But what if—“

“Ah ah ah!” Tony held his hand up, “Nope, it’s gonna be fine, and you’re gonna do great,”

Peter was about to retort but when Tony raised a brow he sighed, and instead said, “If you say so,”

“I do so,” Tony replied, and grinned when Peter rewarded him with an eye roll. 

~~~

“You know, if you bite that lip any harder it’s going to bleed,”

Peter released his lip from between his teeth, subtly running his tongue over where it was slightly sore. He was relieved to note that it wasn’t actually bleeding.

“Relax, kid, it’s gonna be fine,” Tony said calmly, his eyes never leaving the road, “no one’s expecting you to do anything. Just stick with me, I’ll introduce you around, there’ll be a few questions about what I’m like as a boss, then they’ll pester me cause they’re more interested in my money and getting me to pay for things for them. Okay?”

Peter nodded shakily, “Yeah... yeah. I guess I’m just nervous,”

“Don’t be, you’re gonna do fine,”

Peter wasn’t convinced, but he didn’t have much time to worry about it as they pulled in through an ocean of photographers and paparazzi. He swallowed, eternally grateful for the tinted windows.

“You’ve just got to get to the door, Pete,” Tony said soothingly, “they’re not inside. Just get out the car, winning smile and a few waves, ignore any questions shouted at you and just walk with me to the door. Ready?”

Peter took a deep breath, hoping to settle the butterflies careening around inside of him, and wrangled his features into a smile.

“Ready,” 

Tony smiled warmly, and Peter felt fractionally better as the duo climbed out of the car. 

Flashes of light and a multitude of voices assaulted his senses and Peter blinked, taking a second to steady himself. He hadn’t realised how much of a protective bubble the car had been, but after a second of acclimatisation Peter put the smile back on his face and waved awkwardly in the direction of the noise, unable to make any people out  beyond the lights . 

A valet drove the car away and Peter made his way across the gap to Tony’s side, making an effort not to rush. The second he made it Tony used a hand on his arm to direct him up the stairs. 

Peter let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding the second the doors shut and the noise and lights instantly vanished. 

“You all good?” Tony asked.

“Yeah. It was just a little more intense than I was expecting,”

Tony clapped him on the shoulder and started leading him in, “You get used to them, but that was not bad at all for a first go,”

Once they entered the main room, Peter had to stop his eyes from popping out of his face.

The crystal chandelier that was suspended grandly from the ornate marble ceiling probably cost more than his entire apartment building and all its contents. Probably the entire street actually. The band playing in the corner probably earned in a night what May made in a month. The many recognisable faces in the room made Peter acutely aware of the the sheer skill, knowledge and expense in the room and he suddenly felt insanely inferior. 

But then there was a comforting hand on his shoulder and a voice in his ear, “An hour tops and then we can leave,”

Peter looked up and was struck by the sincerity and concern on Tony’s face. He smiled weakly and shook his head, “I’ll be fine,” 

Tony raised a skeptical brow but didn’t say anything as they entered the room properly. 

They were immediately intercepted by a tall woman with a shaggy bob of greying hair. 

“Tony! I haven’t seen you at one of these for a while, thought you might be leaving me to suffer alone,” she said, extending her hand.

“You’re hardly suffering, Charlie,” Tony said, nodding good naturedly to the woman stood beside his friend.

Charlie beamed and placed her hand lovingly on the woman’s back, “This is my fiancée, Emily. Emily, this is Tony Stark,”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Stark,” she said with a shy smile.

“The pleasure is all mine, and please, call me Tony,” he followed their curious glances and placed a hand on Peter’s back, “allow me to introduce Peter Parker, my intern. Peter, this is Charlie King, and her fiancée Emily,”

“I-it’s great to meet you both,” Peter offered his hand, praying the shaking wasn’t obvious. He was only meeting  _the_   Charlie King!

Charlie didn’t seem to notice, taking his hand and giving it two firm shakes.

“Nice to meet you too, Peter,” she turned to Tony as Peter and Emily greeted each other, “Since when do you need an intern?”

Though there was nothing but open curiosity in her tone Peter still felt his heart sink.

“Since I found someone worthy of being my intern,” Tony replied, throwing a proud arm around Peter’s shoulders. 

“More like you found someone who could put up with you for extended periods of time,” Charlie joked and everyone laughed.

Tony only shrugged unaffected, “I’m getting old, I need a strong youth to do all the heavy lifting,”

“Now I never thought I’d hear you admit you’re old,” Charlie chuckled.

“And you never will again,” Tony turned to Peter, “and if you tell anyone I said that I’ll deny it,”

Peter laughed genuinely, thinking that tonight wouldn’t be so bad after all.

~~~

After a few laps of the room Peter, although not entirely comfortable, felt much less stressed. He’d met some of his idols and not made a total fool of himself - a few of them had even tried to offer him work! Of course, he’d never abandon Mr Stark like that, but it felt good to be offered.

He was just on his way back from the bathrooms when a voice next to him said, “Oh thank god, someone else who isn’t a thousand years old,”

Peter turned to see a boy with perfectly quiffed hair leaning disinterestedly against the wall. He was young, Peter guessed he was about the same age as himself, but he looked far more comfortable here than he did. 

He pushed off the wall and sauntered over, “I get dragged to these things all the time but I’ve not seen anyone young here before. What’s your name?” 

“I’m Peter. Peter Parker,” he held his hand out.

“I’m Brandon Harris,” the boy took Peter’s hand and shook it firmly.

“Nice to meet you,” Peter said, feeling a bit uncomfortable about the frown on Brandon’s face. 

He had an air of expectation about him, as though he were waiting for Peter to react to the name. But Peter had never heard of him, so he asked the only question he could think of.

“So who do you intern for?”

Brandon laughed derisively and Peter knew he’d said the wrong thing. He cursed himself, wishing Mr Stark had introduced the pair - he knew who everyone was. 

“I don’t  intern  for anyone. I’m Brandon Harris. My father is Isaac Harris, _please_ tell  me you’ve heard of him,” Brandon sneered.

Peter struggled not to squirm as he racked his brains. He was pretty certain he’d heard the name somewhere before but he couldn’t remember where, or in what context. 

“Of course I have,” Peter said, trying to sound casual, “I just didn’t connect the name straight away,”

“Sure,” said Brandon disbelievingly, “so go on then, who do you intern for?”

Being intern to Tony Stark was one of the best things that had ever happened to him, but the way Brandon said it made it feel like it wasn’t good enough, like it was something to be ashamed of.

No, Peter decided, he wasn’t embarrassed, he was proud.

“Tony Stark,” he announced, holding his head high. He was satisfied to see Brandon’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Tony Stark?” 

“Yeah,”

Brandon scoffed, “What does he need an intern for? Where did he find you anyway?”

There was the real story and there was the cover story he and Tony had come up with, where Tony had discovered the teen at a science fair and offered him an internship.

In that exact moment, Peter’s mind could recall neither. 

“Queens,” he blurted out, mentally face-palming.  Seriously!?

“Queens!?” Brandon spluttered, shocked amusement written on his face, “You’re joking, right?”

Peter flushed in indignation, “No,”

Brandon laughed, “What the hell does Tony Stark want with some lowlife from Queens?”

Peter glared, fists clenching at his sides, “I’m not a lowlife,”

“I bet it’s weird dressing smart for something other than a court appearance,” Brandon sniggered, gesturing to Peter’s tux.

“I’ve never been to court! And I’ve actually dressed smart plenty of times!” though the only times coming to mind were various funerals. He shooed the thought away. 

“You probably didn’t even do that bow tie by yourself,” 

“Of course I did,” Peter defended, though his shame reddened cheeks gave him away.

Brandon laughed harder, “Oh my god this is too precious, no wonder you didn’t know who I am, you probably don’t know anybody here,”

“I knew about plenty of people here!” Peter defended.

“Suuure,” Brandon laughed.

Peter was about to retort when he realised that that was exactly what Brandon would want. He was trying to get him riled up and it was working, so Peter took a deep breath and started to walk away.

“Hey, wait, I’m sorry,” Brandon caught his arm, and Peter let himself be stopped, “that was mean. I think it’s really nice that Stark has taken pity on you and given you a job. Must be a good way for you to earn some extra money,” 

Peter’s eyes narrowed, not knowing exactly what he was insinuating but knowing it wasn’t good. He pulled his arm away and started walking, not wanting to know.

“So how much does he pay you to suck his dick?”

Peter froze, red tinging his vision. Brandon could say what he wanted about him, sure it hurt, but it wasn’t important. But how dare he say that Mr Stark was some kind of pervert! 

He turned, ready to punch that twisted smirk right off the boy’s face. He raised his fist ready to strike, but his senses warned him a second before a firm hand landed on his shoulder. 

“Hey there, wondered where you’d got to,” Tony said lightly, though his eyes were tight, “come with me, I’ve got someone I’d like you to meet,” 

Peter felt hot shame wash through him. He’d disappointed Mr Stark, and he’d been about to humiliate him by punching the son of some successful scientist! 

He didn’t resist as Mr Stark put an arm around his shoulders and began to lead him away, blinking furiously against his suddenly damp eyes.

“See you around, Peter, enjoy the rest of the gala!” Brandon called after them, barely hidden amusement in his voice.

Tony’s arm suddenly disappeared, and Peter turned to see him stalking back towards Brandon. He watched in surprise as Mr Stark got right in Brandon’s face, who’d backed up to the wall. 

Tony spoke quietly enough that only Brandon would hear, and even with his enhanced hearing Peter barely made it out.

“If you ever come near Peter again, I’ll make sure you never get into college. Any college. Not even _community_ college.  Got it?”

“Y-yes sir, sorry sir,” Brandon stammered, eyes flashing in horror. 

“And you should know that someone’s background does not define who they are, or did you forget you’re also from Queens?”

Brandon paled, and though Tony had never raised his voice the boy looked sufficiently cowed. He glanced at Peter and hung his head shamefully.

“Think on that next time you try to belittle someone, you stuck up lowlife,”

Tony walked back over to Peter, pulling the stunned teen back through the main room.

Peter was panicking. Mr Stark had called Brandon a lowlife - so he’d seen the whole thing, and if Mr Stark had seen the whole thing then maybe other people had too. Oh god, what if he’d embarrassed Mr Stark by fighting. He chanced a glance at the man’s face...

... oh yeah, his jaw was doing that twitchy thing, he was so mad. Peter swallowed nervously, following Tony as the man expertly wove his way through the busy room.

Most people paid them no mind, but Peter was paranoid that they all knew.

Neither he nor Tony said a word until they reached the main doors, and Tony murmured, “Big smiles, Pete,” as the staff member held the door for them.

Though his mind was running at 90 miles an hour, Peter still managed to stretch his mouth into a grin before they emerged into the night air. Camera shutters clicked and flashed once again as they made their way to the car the valet had already brought around. 

Peter waited until they had pulled away and were heading down the road before he couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Mr Stark, I—“ he started at the same time as Tony said, “Listen, kid—“

“No, me first,” Tony continued, “you know what he said was bullshit, right?”

“Of course I do! I know you wouldn’t... I know you’d never ask me to...”

“Ah, ew, no, that one’s a given,” Tony scrunched his nose up in disgust, “I meant all the other stuff he said about you,”

Peter thought back over what Brandon had said. It had hurt, for sure, but he knew deep down that none of it was true.

“I know. But Mr Stark, I’m so sorry I was fighting, I shouldn’t have let him get to me and I’m sorry I tried to punch him,”

Tony snorted, “Don’t be, I’m sorry for stopping you,”

Peter blinked, “What?”

“He had it coming, he was being a total asshole. It was only because I knew it would leak to the press outside that I stopped you, any other situation and I’d have been cheering you on,”

“Seriously?” Peter asked, a smile threatening to break out.

“Sure, that punk was way out of line. He’s lucky he’s a minor or I’d’ve decked him myself,”

Peter smiled to himself at the image and settled back more comfortably into the seat, until a thought occurred to him.

“Hey, Mr Stark?” Peter asked.

“Yeah kid?”

“... who’s Isaac Harris?”

Tony barked out a laugh, “Isaac Harris is the proud owner of a second rate tech company,”

“Oh, I’ve never heard of him,” Peter murmured.

“I’m not surprised, he’s new to the market and going nowhere. Not if he keeps trying to rip off everyone else’s work, and take credit for other people’s inventions,”

“Huh,” Peter mused.

“Exactly,”

They drove in a contented silence for a while until they pulled up outside of Peter’s apartment block. He made a move to get out of the car but Tony gestured for him to stay a moment.

“You know, you’re always saying that you stand up for the little guy. I just want you to know that it’s okay if sometimes the little guy is you,” said Tony.

Peter’s heart swelled at the apparent affection in his mentor’s tone. 

“Thanks Mr Stark,”

Tony nodded, “Alright, now go on up, I’m sure your aunt wants to hear all about your big night out,”

Peter grinned and bounded out of the car. All in all he thought that the gala wasn’t too bad, and he’d be happy to go to another one. As long as it wasn’t in the near future.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N - Just to let you all know I meant absolutely no offence to anyone from Queens! I just get the impression from various sources that it’s not the classiest of areas, but do correct me if I’m wrong. I was wishing as I wrote it that Peter lived in a made up city so I wouldn’t have to slander a real place I know nothing about, but hey!


End file.
